all I have

We are trying to be thankful for all of the mud, for the sake of some dear boys on campus who are just eating it up (literally).

As we begin to discuss our living conditions in Haiti and packing lists with the field, I (Stacey) am suprsied by how difficult it is for me to think about giving up so many of the luxuries we have. I have never been obsessed with having nice things, nor am I one to shop for name brand clothing or name brand, well, anything. But as the time grows close, I realize that "things" still matter to me far too much. How can I move to a new home with nothing but four suitcases? Can we be happy without ice cream, air conditioning, a TV...without a Wal-Mart, a microwave, a sofa, without a full-size bed? We are both reading the book, "No Guarantee but God", which details the life callings of four missionaries who founded OMS. And I am so humbled and so blessed as I read the testimony of E.A. Kilbourne, once a man asking himself these same questions as he headed for Japan.

He ended up exchanging all that he had for funds to support the sharing of the Bible with 60,000,000 people. When all his possessions were gone, "He took five dollars from his pocket--all the money that he had--and laid it on an open Bible, across the verse, 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.' In doing so he acted in consistency with a long-established life principle which held, 'I am God's, and every thing I have belongs to Him as well.'"

Oh, Lord...take it all, for all we have is a blessing from You and all we want is what You have for us...